Exercise program could improve cancer treatment outcomes

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/941774

 

 News Release 1-Feb-2022
Peer-Reviewed Publication
NIHR Biomedical Research Centre at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s College London

 

A moderate exercise programme could improve the success of chemotherapy treatment in oesophageal cancer patients, according to results from a study at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

The research, which involved 40 oesophageal cancer patients, shows that exercise can be safely included as part of cancer treatment. It was published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Moderate exercise was also shown to reduce some of the negative effects of chemotherapy on fitness, meaning that it could help to make chemotherapy an option for more patients. The authors say the results indicate a larger study is needed to confirm the findings.

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 The study was led by Mr Andrew Davies, consultant in upper gastro-intestinal surgery at Guy’s and St Thomas’. He said: “This is a small study, but a promising one, as it shows how a moderate exercise programme could help to improve the success of chemotherapy treatment. We want to confirm this effect in further studies, but conceivably this may benefit patients with other types of cancer and be a cost-effective way to improve the effectiveness of treatment.”

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